Bad news for those who thought that Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale’s take on Batman in the pair’s Dark Knight trilogy was the definitive live-action version: it seems we can finally put to rest hopes of seeing the star suit up on screen once more. Although rumors of a Justice League film being planned by Warner Bros. and DC Comics refuse to die following the success of Man of Steel (2013), Bale has again spoken on the likelihood of ever returning to play Bruce Wayne.

Expressing the same opinions he has in the past, the star sees Nolan’s take on the character as a finished story. From his point of view, the team was lucky enough to tell every chapter of the story they had hoped to, and with the trilogy now finished, it should stay finished. Meaning his time with the character is over.

Going solely on facts and quotes – not rumors and gossip – Bale has consistently made it clear that The Dark Knight Rises was his last time playing Batman. The only exception, he claimed, would be Christopher Nolan finding another story to tell; a notion the director has rejected at every turn. Yet with endless money awaiting his return in particular for a Justice League film, some have maintained hopes that a large enough paycheck could lure Bale back to the cowl, even if it was a long shot.

Speaking with EW, Bale made his position as clear as ever. Apparently, time out of the limelight hasn’t made the idea of ‘undoing’ the trilogy’s ending any more attractive:

“We were incredibly fortunate to get to make three. That’s enough. Let’s not get greedy…Chris always said he wanted to make it one film at a time. And we ended up sitting there looking at each other, saying ‘We’re about to make the third.’ We never really knew if we were going to get to be there, but if that was how it was going to be, this was where it should end as well.”

Anyone who sought out the deeper themes and undercurrents of trauma in Nolan’s trilogy – and how they were resolved in The Dark Knight Rises – can understand Bale’s position on letting sleeping dogs lie. In essence, Nolan and Bale told the Batman story they wanted to, with a beginning, a middle and an end. Some blockbuster fans may have taken the closing moments of TDKR as leaving the series open for yet another sequel, but supporting actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt claimed it shouldn’t be taken as such.

For reasons that don’t need to be explored in-depth, calling on Bruce Wayne to once again sport the cowl and bear the responsibility of a city, a country or planet doesn’t just undercut Nolan’s ending, but goes completely against the final message of the trilogy as a whole (“Batman could be anybody”). Fans will forever wish that Nolan and Bale had taken advantage of their success and made as many films as possible, but as Bale explains, they knew a legendary trilogy was more than seemed possible in the beginning; with an ending that left fans wanting more, not realizing the series had run out of steam.

Just because Bale isn’t looking to return to the cape and cowl, that doesn’t mean a plan isn’t in place without him, or that he hasn’t already been contacted by WB and been forced to let them down easy. Unfortunately for those who thought the studio was merely being secretive when claiming they’re taking their time, all evidence supports that position. To date, Bale claims he has yet to hear anything directly about a DC team-up:

“I have no information, no knowledge about anything. I’ve literally not had a conversation with a living soul. I understand that they may be making a Justice League movie, that’s it… It’s a torch that should be handed from one actor to another. So I enjoy looking forward to what somebody else will come up with.”

Just because Bale is hanging up his cape doesn’t mean some elements can’t be continued, of course; the latest Alfred (Michael Caine), for instance, has stated his interest in portraying the role in another series, and it’s hard to see a reason why he couldn’t. And with Nolan’s continued role with DC’s biggest stars, there’s no reason to think he may not be attached in a minor capacity. However, only time will.

At least now we can say with certainty that there will be a new Batman in the coming years, and as was the case with Man of Steel, he’ll have a lot more riding on his shoulders than the fate of Gotham. If a rebooted Batman film can succeed standing on its own two feet, the prospect of a Justice League team-up, or even a Batman/Superman film first becomes far more promising from the studio’s standpoint (that plan has Henry Cavill’s blessing, so who are we to doubt it?).

Does this make your hopes for future DC movies soar, or fall flat on their face? Most importantly, does this open the doors between the world of Man of Steel and the heroes around Superman that Nolan’s Batman may have kept closed? Share your thoughts in the comments.

We’ll keep you updated as more news on either the new Batman or Justice League arrives.

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Very disappointing news! My hopes for an Epic Justice League franchise just went up in flames. Reading between the lines it seems as if Warner Brothers did not even approach him about reprising the role which if true will go down as yet another blunder for Warner Brothers right beside Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), Catwoman (2004) and Green Lantern (2011). How do you NOT combine your two most successful Superhero franchises to hyper launch a Justice League movie? Both franchises are compatible to one another. They just blew dozens of millions of dollars when invariably critics and fans will reject the next version of Batman. What a shame!

Come on man, it’s not the studio. Di you read the article at all? Nolan and Bale are done. D.O.N.E. They won’t do another Batman ANYTHING. so don’t blame the studio. and honestly, it’s a good move, The Dark Knight Trilogy deserves to be left alone.

True, it’s not the studio, it’s Nolan and Bale, they’ve told their story and want to leave it at that. If Warner Bros. ends up throwing money at them for their return, and they still reject the offer, hats off to them for sticking to their guns.

AGH I just can’t help but think what a team up between Bale and Cavill be like though, can’t help it.

Bale states that no one has talked to him about it. It would be one thing if WB approached him and he said no, but to not even bring it up to him says to me it was a studio decision and he is basically just saying he is fine with it.

The batman that appears in a World’s Finest movie will be a complete mystery to people…and don’t tell me people already know the history of Batman. Bale and Keaton both played the same character with the same history but their take on it was markedly different.

That’s one of the things that will be up in the air for me. What’s the Batman in a Justice League or World’s Finest going to be like? That’ll be a deciding factor for me, already like Man of Steel’s Superman so now it’s Batman that I’m looking at.

Well from statements from both Nolan and Bale it’s clear that they won’t do it based on artistic integrity as any continuation of their self contained trilogy would errevocably diminish and actually undue the very central themes that ran throught the trilogy.

From a business standpoint, of course its seems crazy WB wouldnt at least try to convince them but perhaps they respect Nolan and Bale a bit to much to even try. Nothing wrong with fresh interpretation of Bats.

Crime was eliminated for the time being is my guess. The whole trilogy revolved around making Batman relateable and showing that anyone can be Batman. It’s sort of the symbol behind the Bat that lived on, not the Bat itself.

Oh I meant after Dark Knight Rises. Plus during the 7 years, for sure crime wouldn’t have been eliminated, but threats like Joker or Bane may have not happened. Or anything that will immediately need Batman involved.

Actually Bruce stopped being Batman some various times. Not for a lengthy period of time but he has. Usually after the death of Jason Todd. Many stories actually paint Bruce Wayne into wanting a normal life.

Anyhow…

Personally while I may not necessarily agree on it, I kind of understand the context.

Batman feels responsible for the death of Rachel, Harvey’s transformation and death, and the death and trouble he seems to the cause of.
He seems to have inspired criminals such as the Joker and escalated the war of crime to new heights.

Batman sees himself not as a vigilante but rather an extension of justice for the greater good- not himself. He was ready to turn himself in if he thought he would stop the Joker’s killings. To Bruce Wayne the Batman was a symbol, a tool, to stop crime and corruption. By the end of the film, the symbol was corrupted to the public, and thus no longer effective in his mind.

Batman may not answer to every law but he does answer to the people.
“Who elected the Batman?”-Bruce Wayne
“We did. All of us who stood by while scum took over our city.”- Harvey Dent

It was not considered an honor, but rather a public service.
Batman felt Harvey Dent could be the face that would truly inspire and save Gotham. In a way it did. The Dent Act.

This is where my specific problem with the final film lies.
We should have seen the effectiveness of the Dent Act rather than be told it worked.
We should have seen Bruce trying to turn his public face into a symbol just as his parents, and fail when his fusion reactor posed as a major threat to the city.
We should have seen hung up the cape and cowl but is at unrest- both his identities were useless.

This was present in TDKR but was not presented in a dynamic and compelling way. If we as the audience would delve into the success and controversy of the Dent Act, and the trials and failures of Bruce Wayne, we as an audience would have fallen in deeply into the moral and ethical themes that supported the first two films with great visual dynamic.

Agreed to bad Disney locked him down for a terrible lone ranger sequal (unless it doesnt do well). I think he is the perfect choice since its been said they want to keep batman and superman around the same age.

Michael Keaton will always be Batman to me. I remember having a bad case of croup when I was 7 and they played Batman ’89 on their TV when I was recovering. That was the first Batman movie I had ever seen and it got me through the night.

I saw Begins opening day with my dad, that was about 3 years since my first encounter with Keaton. I had watched all of the original 4 by then, but Begins was a great experience. It was one of those movies where I didn’t care if there was a sequel or not. It was, and still is, that good.

I was 10. Wasn’t really into superheroes aside from Spider-Man at that time thanks to Raimi (but I LOVED the DCAU). Begins just looked like a good movie in general, we saw it our of pure curiosity because the first trailer was INTENSE.

Much like you ACW my first batman film was Batman Begins. Hence why Bale will always be Batman to me much like Keaton is Batman to me. There doesn’t need to be a better or worse version (except Clooney) anyone can love the version they like.

Good. No more cookie monster Batman. For the next Batman, no more reboot movies please. It’s just tedious. Just make him like Hulk in The Avengers, just hangin’ around and showed up as a cameo or whatever…

The Nolan trilogy is not that good! The third one slapped the face of everything that made the second one so awesome! You fanboys who claim to love comics so much didn’t even get a comic-based film with the third one! Batman isn’t batman for eight years?! and then quits?! Robin has a different name and he’s a cop?! Sacrilege, if you like the third one you should get your head examined!

Huge comics fan, and I thought the third was a masterpiece. they nailed Bane and Catwoman, and Talia, and added that really cool prison element. Idk why you didn’t like it. But Batman Begins will always be my favorite of the 3. 3 was the weakest in the series of course, but it was still incredible. so what if he’s not batman for awhile, they did stuff like that in the comics. and yes, it’s okay for the definition of “awhile” to be 8 years.

Agreed. I am a HUGE fan of the comics and TDK trilogy consists of my favorite movies of all time. They took the characters and settings, did them justice, and told good stories with them. They aren’t for everyone of course but just because it isn’t YOUR cup of tea doesn’t mean it’s crap. I am not the biggest fan of Tim Burton’s movies, but they ARE good movies. They just aren’t for me.

But, the story Nolan wanted to tell is finished and it’s time for a new and fresh take.

Ahem…
The Dark Knight Returns would like to have a word with you about Batman quitting for a while then coming back.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character is NOT Robin.
Dick Grayson was a cop in Bludhaven.
I think you should get your head examined.

Rises is the most comic book like. And the trilogy as a whole is very loosely based off the comics, so no one should very much expect too much related to the comics other than names and major roles.

Also, I’m so happy a new Batman is coming along. Bale was a great Bruce Wayne but a HORRIBLE Batman. All he did was growl and his “Bat-voice” just got worse with every movie. I’d rather not have Bale interrogating Doomsday or Darkseid or whatever going all WHERE IS SUPERMAN IAWBFUNFASJD WHERE IS HE AISOFIUSD HOCKEY PAAAAAAADS

I don’t remember Catwoman’s origin being killed than being revived…..by cats biting her wounds….

Returns is fine but the Penguin makes me wanna hurl, his actions and appearance are so grotesque.

Keaton is still THE live-action Batman to me, he pulled off everything so well.

And I like Nicholson better than Ledger. I love Ledger, but his name is JOKER. Ledger was not funny at all. Nicholson was crazy, but still hilarious. Mark Hamill I feel perfected Nicholson’s Joker in the animated series.

I am not a comic fan, I havn’t read Batman comics. I have however seen animated cartoon and I still love TDKR. It’s a diffrent take on the character much like Star Trek reboot is a diffrent take on the mythos. You can either embrace it or hate it.

I figured as much. I’d rather it be this way. I absolutely love the Dark Knight trilogy and I’m happy to see Bale calling it quits after three. As a fan of his acting, I’d rather he continue to do other roles for the remainder of his career. I’m looking forward to American Hustle.

Warner Bros. could be smart to just be cool right now and not rush into anything. There’s just been a MAJOR shakeup at the studio with the firing of Jeff Robinov and the end of their partnership with Legendary Pictures. They need to get their feet set before any Justice League happens. Do Man of Steel 2 and hopefully by then everything’s fallen into place.

FINALLY! Good grief, that Batman was becoming a complete mess by the minute. Wise move. Now we can have a fresh rogues gallery with more traditional origins AND a chance at making a perfect Batman. They’ve come so close at times

I agree a fresh rogues gallery is needed more than the joker he is getting like lex luthor was. The last batman was cool but the 2nd one was the best. i dont mind the real world aspect but dont make it too real and take the fantasy out of it. Thats why most people go to movies to escape the real world. and i wanted Bane to have that stuff to make him bigger and stronger i was urked he didnt but it was still cool. Now they can have clayface, black mask, riddler, or who ever

You find boxes of toys that need to be assembled in 8-12 hours..so you send your kids to bed…put on a pot of coffee…shake the cobwebs out of your head….open first bike…Oh crap, the instructions are in Whateverese….So you wing it and go by pictures and you think “Ok, I have spare parts…” Next bike, oh this one is in in american….same bike…then you use all the parts and now you look at bike number 1…..ARRRGGGHHHHHHHH

After 2 hours of building bikes…Now comes the Barbie Dream Houses with Stickers and labels…So…I was glad when the girls got older, it was more electonics than anything else!

I really had to clue my kids in on logic. OK, you have a fat man in a red outfit on a sleigh being pulled by flying deers, and he has to deliver presents to all kids on the planet in one night.

1. How can a fat man get down those skinny chimneys
2. When did deer all of sudden start flying? Can I get one of those to beat traffic?
3. To deliver presents in one night around the globe, you would have surpass light speed (the takeoff with obliterate the deers)
4. And the most important problem: Some guy coming into my house unannounced stealing my milk and cookies is going to get capped

I loved Bale’s interpretation of both Wayne and Batman and Nolan’s trilogy, and I’m perfectly fine with getting a new actor for the reboot/JLA version of the character. The trilogy was precisely that…time for a new look into the shadows.

Nolan fans have gone really gone overboard with these ridiculous rumors. Its time to put them to rest and realize that darknight rises was a money grab with no further story to tell as evidenced by how they ran out of ideas. Let someone else play the character…..

This is no disappointment to me. I am at peace with the Dark Knight trilogy being a closed story, and certainly that version of Batman does not fit into a Justice League universe. IMO anyone who thinks that Bale should come back for JL or anything other than a Nolanverse film…just doesn’t get it. Time for Batman to be reborn again, hopefully as a character who exists in the same world as Kal-El. It’s the circle of life.

I find it laughable every time a hater tries to dismiss The Dark Knight Trilogy. What Nolan did not only revolutionized comic book movies but it raised the bar period. The Dark Knight will always be the crown jewel. The fact that The Oscars changed it’s best pictures format because of it says it all. There has never been a comic trilogy that has made more money and is more critically acclaimed and no amount of foolish hate will ever change that.

As For Bale not being apart of this world, its the right thing to do. The Dark Knight Trilogy is part of its own unique world and does not belong in the Justice League world that MOS exists in.

We need a Batman that is young, good looking and who will be athletic enough to perform some comic book type moves and look good doing it. We need a whole new suit more like Batman Arkham with a true detective approach. A guy like Liam McIntyre could be outstanding. He did great as Spartacus. He has the bravado, looks, great voice, fighting ability and acting chops to play that role well.

Maybe now the WB will get their thumbs out there butts and start asking for scripts to other Comic Book movies they can do another one while there planning MOS2 it doesnt have to be Batman. Give Flash a shot or Aquaman , Green Lantern ( 4get a reboot just get a new lantern and a good sinesto story and go) or wonder woman.

I heard that Bale was a bit of a tempermental stubborn jack-arse to work with, must have thought he was a start or something. I would rather see a rebooted Batman (but with the character as Bruce Wayne) for JLA. All of the batman movies, no matter who was in them, really did not impress me as much as they apparently impressed the rest of the general population. Nor did the Superman movies impress. man of Steel might be the exception, although I have only seen trailers so far since I am waiting for the DVD to come out, which I will take a chance on and buy. So we don’t choke on Supes and Bats the way we choke on several other hero/villain characters (“The Wolverine & magneto Show”; “The Dr. Doom Show”, etc.), let’s leave them alone for a bit and get concentrating on some other heroes: more Green Lantern (RR as Hal Jordan, just make him more serious), Flash (Barry Allen), Atom, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, etc. for instance, if we are ever gonna get a JLA movie off the ground. Give us JLA, or at least give us some of the characters, or just quit giving us excuses and worn out Bats and Supes all reconstituted (MOS again being the possible exception), and just sell your studios to Marvel/Disney.

i didnt think it was that bad he was trying to hard to be funny not bad enough to reboot it did its job told his origin and got to sinestro going yellow so if anything reboot the direcor and writer, get a new actor for lantern and go from there ,( thats what hulk did they on their 3rd banner ) if they keep rebooting they wont get to jl till 2020